VPNs are, however, your best and last resort to unblock BBC iPlayer just as long as you choose the right VPN for the job.

The way a VPN work is not only changing your IP address as a Proxy does, but also add encryption and security layers to your connection.

Some VPNs have additional IP masking features such as DoubleVPN or Server switching, which makes it even harder for BBC iPlayer to detect.

How does BBC iPlayer detect VPN traffic?

There are a few methods that BBC iPlayer is using in order to detect VPN or Proxy traffic and block it out.

Server and IP Blacklists – BBC iPlayer is constantly gathering IP addresses where they see traffic from different devices and Operating Systems. In other words, it is very unlikely that the same IP address would be used by a person with different versions of Mac OS, different versions of Windows, Android, and an iPhone at the same time. This is common to VPN traffic where the same servers and IP addresses are shared by thousands of people.

IPv4 to IPv6 – One other check BBC iPlayer is doing, is to compare your IPv4 address with your IPv6. The IPv4 is your public IP address, and this is what some VPNs and all Proxy services are changing. Your IPv6 is a different encryption for that same IP address, but if your VPN doesn’t change it as well, and the two would show a different IP address encoding then it is quite clear that some manipulation has been done.

The only way for your to unblock BBC iPlayer and bypass its geo-restrictions is by using a VPN that has white-listed servers (constantly gets new servers) and is able to hide your IPv6.

Additional encryption is also necessary so the very basic checks would not be able to expose your original IP.

Why can’t I watch BBC iPlayer from outside the UK?

The main reason BBC iPlayer is blocked from outside the UK is copyright content.

Had they allowed anyone to connect and stream content freely, the BBC would lose potentially millions in advertising and other commercial agreements.

They also would not be able to control royalty payments outside the UK.

For this reason, BBC iPlayer simply blocks traffic from outside the UK.

BBC iPlayer Geo-Restrictions

This is where a VPN gets handy; a good VPN for BBC iPlayer will get you around those pesky geo-restrictions.

Daniel Krupp is the editor in chief of vpnlocker.com. He Served at an intelligence unit at the US military, specializing in Cyber-Security. This is where he first learned the importance of cyber-security and the tools that should be used to accomplish it. He became an expert in understanding and utilizing VPN’s and other proxies to unblock websites and online services. Daniel consults and writes VPN reviews, VPN guides and useful tricks and hacks for a better, freer internet.